Evaluation of the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps Program

Many of the factors that influence health, such as social and economic factors and the physical environment, are outside the traditional public health and health care arenas. As a result, the solutions to improve these factors—and ultimately population health—require leadership, partnership, and action across multiple sectors, including business, government, education, philanthropy, community development, health care, and public health. The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) program, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, aims to help mobilize communities to improve health through the County Health Rankings, which offer local data to help communities identify potential areas for community health improvement, and the Roadmaps to Health, which provide guidance and tools to help communities move to action.

This five-year evaluation focuses on understanding whether and how Roadmaps to Health contributes to increased action toward improving population health through multisector partnerships and system and policy changes.

Mathematica is using a mixed-methods approach that includes collecting qualitative data from a variety of sources, reviewing existing program documents and websites, and analyzing descriptive data to address the following evaluation questions:

• What types of action does CHR&R either generate or contribute to among national public health leaders, community leaders, and key stakeholder networks outside of the traditional public health and health care sectors, such as mayors, commissioners, and business coalitions?
• Have the types of efforts and tactics used to improve population health changed or broadened as a result of CHR&R? If so how?
• What community factors or characteristics are associated with increased action?